In the last article I wrote, I talked about the importance of using the Used Equipment/Remarketing Manager to understand the current market conditions and outside influencers. Below are the three functions of Pillar One, the Centralized Appraisal Process, I find most important.

The Used Equipment/Remarketing Manager has to understand the current state of the Used Equipment Marketplace and the outside influencers that will have a positive or negative effect.

Have an unbiased look at the machine value based on past dealership sales history, current auction value, and finally, retail advertised price.

Lastly, have NO emotional tie to the deal or the customer.

In this article, I am going to focus on function two and three. Throughout my career, I will show the importance and talk about some of the pitfalls I have encountered.

The last article I wrote outlined three functions of a Centralized Appraisal Process and how a Used Equipment/Remarketing Manager should gather and process data during the Trade-In Evaluation Process. They were:

The Used Equipment/Remarketing Manager has to understand the current state of the Used Equipment Marketplace and the outside influencers that will have a positive or negative effect.

Have an unbiased look at the machine value based on past dealership sales history, current auction value, and finally, retail advertised price.

Lastly, have NO emotional tie to the deal or the customer.

In this article, I am going to focus on function one. I will show what I do to keep up on the Local and National EquipmentMarket.

In any sales department, there isn't a more prominent hot button then the value of Trade Evaluations. I have evaluated Equipment for the past 12 years and could count on one hand the number of times someone has said: "I think we might be putting too much in this." Customers fight with the Sales Professional causing an emotional attachment to the deal they are working. Taking all of this into account, what is the best way to value Used Equipment? In my opinion, the only way to successfully evaluate Used Equipment is by using an unbiased appraisal system. The more removed the appraiser is, from the deal, the more precise the number will be. The less I know about the customer, and the more I know about the machine, the better I am at my job.

I talk about the future of the farm equipment business from time-to-time in my blogs and on Moving Iron Podcast. With automation and autonomy just around the corner, it's hard not to! Each new piece of technology inches us closer to unmanned machines and robots working in the fields. Venture capital money pours into agriculture, each looking for the next best efficiency as well as ways to combat the lack of farm labor needed to operate farms and ranches. All of this isn't an issue for the equipment dealer. Dealers will adapt their business as required, just like always. The question is, what does a shrinking customer base look like, and in turn, what will the industry resemble?